2020 Hyundai Elantra Complaints

Around 9 p.m., I was driving home on the XXX highway at about 60 mph. The road was clear, with no obstacles ahead, and it was lightly drizzling in the [XXX] area. Suddenly, the car's emergency braking system activated, then returned to normal. Although it startled me, thankfully there were no cars behind me to avoid a collision. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle unexpectedly stalled. The vehicle was able to restart. The check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic Camshaft sensor failure. The camshaft sensors were replaced; however, the issue persisted. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with engine failure but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact associated the issue with NHTSA Campaign Number 21V301000 (Engine). The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.

This complaint documents a recurring automatic transmission failure resulting in three complete vehicle shutdowns during active operation — two at highway speed and one in an active turning lane. The most recent failure occurred within 15 minutes of the vehicle being released from an authorized Hyundai dealership in College Park, Maryland, whose general manager admitted in a recorded call that the vehicle was released knowing the transmission was unrepaired and unsafe. The first failure occurred in 2025 on a highway with no prior warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealership, where the transmission was confirmed defective and repaired under warranty. The second failure occurred in January 2026, again on a highway with no warning. The dealership held the vehicle from January through May 2026 — four months — with no updates despite multiple owner inquiries. In April 2026 the dealership confirmed the transmission had failed again and was seeking Hyundai corporate authorization for the...

I bought a 2020 Hyundai Elantra in 2024 with 67k miles on it. After driving 22k miles the check engine light went on and when it was brought in to get it checked the transmission went out. I did not buy a warranty so I understood it would not be covered. The issue I had was it was very hard to get information on the condition of the car that was sold to me. What I found out was that the transmission fluid was likley not changed ever and definetly not checked before the car was sold since the check engine light was not on and the engine sounded fine when I bought it. Which when I did meet with the service manager was informed of. The service manager noted that the IVT transmission has a long history of going out and is a bad design. He stated that most cars are not being made with it anymore and that this is well known problem. My biggest issue is that they knew this when it was sold and since the car was already over 60k when they got it should have at least checked the fluid or put in...

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed and at a stop, the vehicle lunged forward. The RPM increased and decreased without applying the accelerator pedal. The check engine light was illuminated. A mobile mechanic reset the codes but was unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred him to the local dealer. The local dealer was contacted, who stated there was a transmission pressure sensor issue. which prevents the service from being performed under Hyundai Service Campaign 863 T5B Bulletin: 20-01-028H. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.